When One Becomes The Other
by elciepbvg
Summary: Hermione is in her 5th year at Hogwarts and falls for an unlikely candidate - George Weasley. But is he really George or is this another joke? What happens to Hermione when she finds out who she really fell for, and if he fell for her back?
1. An Introduction

A/N: I do not own any of the Harry Potter charaters. Most likely I will only own the plot and some wizarding... "tools," so to speak. I hope you like this, as it is my first fanfic. Please leave comments about how I can improve and whether or not you like it. Also, if you see anything wrong (whether it is story line or spelling) please notify me.

Before I go, please note that since Hermione was born in September, I have decided to make her 16 in her fifth year, assuming that the cut off date to enter Hogwartsis before September 1st.

Chapter One: An Introduction

It was the summer before Hermione's 5th year at Hogwart's School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She would be turning 16 shortly after going back to school. If she had been born less than a month earlier, she would have received her owl a year before she actually did. Hermione was glad she didn't get her owl early, though. Otherwise she wouldn't have been as good of friends with Harry and Ron.

Hermione felt so lucky to have Harry and Ron. Being around them so much had tamed her bookwormish personality. She was now able to let loose every now and then. She also didn't feel so bad about sneaking out for night time adventures - adventures she'd never let Harry or Ron know about. They'd ruin her reputation as the "good girl."

It wouldn't be so fun wandering around the corridors this year, though. Hermione (along with Ron) had an excuse this year. They were both made prefects. They'd each have patrol duty, so they were the ones who'd have to do the catching. This reminded Hermione a lot of Professor Snape. _Great_, she thought. _More reason for everyone to hate me._

Hermione was in her room in her parents' house, packing. The next day Mr. Weasley was coming to pick her up for her annual stay at the Burrow. Hermione was extremely excited and was often found smiling to herself as she thought about the past years with her friends.

She missed Ron and Ginny so much. And Hermione would be able to see Harry the day after she arrived at the Burrow. Hermione missed the wizarding world so much that she even longed to see Ron's meddlesome older twin brother's, Fred and George. They always made her laugh when times were rough. She smiled. _This year is going to be great. Definitely the best yet,_ she thought as she pinned her Prefects badge on her Hogwart's cloak.

Hermione dressed happily into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She clapped her hands and the lights went out. Crookshanks, her cat, swept into the darkness and jumped onto the foot of Hermione's bed. He layed protectively at her feet and sleep took her, all the while a smile playing at her lips.


	2. Leaving Home

Chapter Two: Leaving Home

Hermione woke up at a quater to six and smiled. She jumped up and crossed the room to turn on her light. She couldn't stop smiling (it was time to go to the Burrow today!) as she hopped over to her bed to make it for the last time in a long while.

It took her about 5 minutes to get her bed perfect, and another 5 to get dressed and tame her bushy brown hair. In the end, she just put it up in a big pony tail. Hermione then rushed to her trunk and flung open the top. She wanted to make sure she had everything, and with only three more hours to go before Mr. Weasley was to pick her up by the Floo Network, Hermione was beginning to panic. What if she forgot her Potions homework? Snape would surely bite her head off, quite possibly literally.

After another 15 minutes of frantically adding more socks and extra mittens, Hermione practically ran down the stairs, her trunk sliding down giving a dull, but loud, THUMP... THUMP... THUMP... as it hit each stair. She left the trunk in the living room and grinned sheepishly as she heard her father groan from upstairs.

Hermione rushed into the kitchen to prepare her breakfast. She reached into the cupboards and produced a small plate, a bowl, and a cup. In a draw near the sink, she pulled out a butter knife and a spoon. Hermione walked to the bread box and pulled out a piece of bread and popped it into the toaster. She let that toast while she poured herself some Cheerios and orange juice. Her parents always lectured her about how to have a nutritious breakfast (that would help grow strong teeth!).

"I'm not going to miss making my own food when I get back to school," Hermione announced to the empty kitchen.

"What's that, honey?" called a sleepy women's voice. Hermione's parents entered the kitchen in their robes.

"Nothing, mum! Just chatting to myself."

"Hi, honey," said Mr. Granger as he lazily walked to his only daughter and kissed her on top of her head. "You look pretty today."

"Thanks, dad. Don't forget, Mr. Weasley is coming for me at nine."

"How could I foget with you reminding me half a dozen times each hour?" joked Mr. Granger. "Do you have all your things packed?"

"Yes, dad," Hermione replied as her dad sat down to read the paper while Mrs. Granger got out some bowls for her and her husband's breakfasts.

"And you have enough toothbrushes and toothpaste?" questioned her mother.

"Don't worry, mum. I have enough of everything..."

Three hours later, Hermione was still having the same speech about the contents of her trunk with her parents. No one wanted Hermione to forget something. The last thing Hermione had to do was put Crookshanks in his cage. At percisely 9:09, Mr. Weasley burst out of the fireplace in a cool stream of fire while the Granger family stood back and watched. Hermione's parents both jumped, although they had witnessed this before. Mr. Weasley smiled as he stepped out of the hearth, tredding soot on the tan carpet.

"Hello there, Debbie, Bruce, Hermione," he said excitedly, looking around at all the Muggle artifacts. He could not keep the grin off his face.

"Hello, Arthur! It is so nice to meet again," Mrs. Granger replied as she gave a smile that twitched slightly as she stared at Mr. Weasley's feet.

"I just love your home! It's so full of excellent Muggle appliances," Mr. Weasley said as he eyed the television set.

Taking the hint, Mr. Granger said "Would you like me to show you how that works?" as he indicated the television.

"Oh, I would love to, but Molly would kill me if I took too long here. We're going to Diagon Alley today and -"

"I thought we were going tomorrow when Harry gets here..." Hermione said with a frown, thinking maybe she misunderstood Ron's last letter concerning her trip.

"Oh... Well -"

"If you can't stay," interrupted Mr. Granger, sensing a litting tension. "Then let me at least give you these." He picked up a small pile of mechanic magazines and handed them to Mr. Weasley. "Hermione told me how much you love cars."

"Oh! Thank you, Bruce. Molly won't be too happy, but she doesn't need to know," he added with a smile and a wink as he slid the magazines into an inside coat pocket that looked like there was too much space inside than there was material on the outside.

"Well, Hermione, I suppose it's time to go," Mr. Weasley said with a regretful look around the living room.

"Thank you so much for letting Hermione stay with you," said Mrs. Granger as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

"Oh, it's no problem at all. We have so many, I sometimes forget that Hermione isn't one of ours." Mr. Weasley smiled as Hermione went to hug her father.

"Be good, baby girl."

"I will, dad. Don't worry about me."

"Sometimes I can't help it. You're growing up so fast..." Hermione smiled at her father and crossed the room to stand by Mr. Weasley.

"Well, I think you should go first, Hermione. Why don't you take Crookshanks and I'll take your trunk."

"Alright," said Hermione. She walked over to Crookshanks' cage and picked it up in her arms. She walked to the fireplace and stood in there a minute, looking a little silly holding a cage in her hands.

"Are you ready?" questioned Mr. Weasley?

"Yes." With that, Mr. Weasley threw a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace. Hermione said in a clear voice that rang throughout the room "The Burrow."

Immediately, Hermione was zooming through the Floo Network, catching glimpes of other fireplaces until she was forced to close her eyes. A few seconds later, she fell flat on her face. She could hear many voices and soon she was surrounded by a mass of red hair.


	3. The Plan

A/N: I forgot to mention that I'm pretty much throwing the 5th book out the window. Since this takes place in Hermione's 5th year, I couldn't really use it, especially since the twins leave near the end of the year... On another note, I've decided to wait on the Diagon Alley chapter. That should be the next one, unless I have another idea and I have to put it off again.

Chapter Three: The Plan

"Oy! Get off! I'm happy to see you, too," laughed Hermione as she was mobbed by the Weasley children and -

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed when she spotted the dark haired boy with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The Weasley children backed away as Harry hurtled himself at Hermione. They embraced for a long and bone crushing hug. "I thought you were coming tomorrow, Harry..."

"I was supposed to, but Fred and George decided to take matters into their own hands," Harry said and grinned as Mrs. Weasley let out a huff of air. She glared at her two sons and they looked sheepishly at the floor.

"Okay, Harry. Let Hermione breath," Ginny piped up, sensing the tension in the air. She had a knack for being the peacemaker in the family, as she was the only girl. Ginny smiled over at Hermione and said "C'mon, Hermione. You're staying in my room. Dad can bring your trunk up when he gets back." Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm and started to drag her towards the stairs.

"Hey! Hermione's our friend! When did you two start getting so chummy?" Ron said as he and Harry started following the girls.

"We've been writing over break," Ginny said simply.

"Yeah. And we've had plenty of sleepovers in the girl's dormitories," smirked Hermione.

"Why weren't we invited?" asked Fred with a cheeky grin. He and George had followed the group up the stairs. They all stopped and formed a giant circle as they reached Ginny's room.

"Er... Where is everyone going?" Harry asked as he stared at the twins.

"With you guys, of course," supplied George. "We're trying to... reconnect with our youth." He grinned.

"It's part of the next step in a project we're working on," said Fred.

"What kind of project?" asked Ron wearily. He rubbed the back of his neck as he remembered the Canary Cream that George had slipped him last night.

"That's none of your business, little brother. Now, who's room are taking this little shin dig into?" replied Fred as he rubbed his hands together and looked around at them all.

"Mine, I suppose, since we're right here," Ginny said as she went to open her door. Hermione walked in and everyone else followed. Fred and George were last and George closed the door. Harry, Ron, and Ginny plopped down on Ginny's bed and Hermione went to sit on her extra bed near the only window. Fred and George followed their idea and went to sit on either side of Hermione, since had of course sat in the middle of the bed.

"Hey, there, cutie," George said as he slung an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "What are you doing here?" Hermione glared at George, who was on her left, but said nothing.

"Hey man! What are you doing talking to my girlfriend!" Fred shouted at George. Harry and Ginny started laughing on the couch while Ron just stared, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"_Your_ girlfriend! She's _my_ girlfriend!" George yelled, pulling Hermione closer to him. Hermione was left a little awestruck. No boy had ever said she was his girlfriend, even if they were just joking around.

"Yeah, alright. She's your girlfriend. So, Harry, what did you think of your rescue mission?" Fred said nonchalantly. George looked at Fred, then at his arm still draped around Hermione's shoulder. He removed his arm slowly. After he did that, Hermione moved slightly closer to Fred, in an effort to hide her crimson cheeks from George. Fred looked down at Hermione and grinned. Hermione blushed even more.

"It was great! You should have seen Dudley's face when he saw you two just pop out of nowhere!" Harry said excitedly. The twins had Apparated to Number 4 Privet Drive the previous night to rescue Harry. The Dursley's had threatened to keep Harry locked in his room the rest of vacation if he did anything wrong, so Fred and George had decided to take matters into their own hands.

"I can imagine his face. Probably looked like a squealing pig, right?" Fred said, his attention back on Harry. Fred's smile faded as he went on without waiting for an answer. "Well, we have to go get ready for Diagon Alley, right George?"

"Huh?" George looked at Fred and blurted out. "Oh! Right. See you guys!" With a loud POP, both Fred and George disappeared.

"What the hellis wrong with your brothers!" Hermione said quite loudly to the room. Another POP later and George was standing in front of Hermione again.

"I heard that," he said and was gone with another POP. Harry, Ginny, and Ron all burst out laughing as Hermione let out an embarrassed cry, but quieter than her last outburst.

"So, we are going to Diagon Alley today?" questioned Ginny after their laughs had died down some.

"Yeah, your dad said something about going today," Hermione said. "I was a little scared about Harry, though. I thought he was coming tomorrow and your dad certainly gave me a fright when he said we were going today..."

While Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sat around Ginny's room talking and laughing, Fred and George were in their room talking themselves. George was sitting on his bed looking at Fred who was laying on his own bed, knees pulled up and in the air, his arms under his head as he stared at the ceiling.

"Why did you want to leave Gin's room, Fred?"

"I don't know. It felt weird. Being there, I mean. Next to Hermione." George's eyebrows popped up in surprise.

"What do you mean? We've been around Hermione all the time. What's so special about her?"

"Well..." Fred hesitated. He knew George would never tell. But he wanted to keep his feelings secret a little longer. He needed to figure out why he had felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach when Hermione had scooted ever so closer to him when George had let her go back in Ginny's room. "Well, I've been thinking for awhile now. You know how Hermione is such a goody-goody and all?" Fred rolled onto his side and looked at his brother expectantly.

"Of course. What are you thinking?" George said with a grin. This sounded like a plan.

"What if we pay her back for all the times she's told us off? And she's bound to catch us at night on one of our nightly strolls, so why not plan ahead?"

"I like your thinking, but have you got a plan yet? Should we use some of our Weasley Wizarding Wheezes mechandise on her?" George sounded excited at the idea of testing out some of their inventions on an unsuspecting victim.

"No. I was thinking more along the lines of messing with her head." Fred sat up. Fred and George were mirror images of each other as they sat, slumped, exactly the same way with the same meddlesome glow in their matchinghazel eyes.

"Hmm... That's sounds good. We can show her that we're not as dumb as she thinks we are. What kind of head messing do you have in mind?" George looked pointedly at Fred.

"What if we make her fall in love with one of us?" George's face fell when Fred said this.

"With a spell?" George asked, confused. He didn't know of a spell to make someone fall in love with you. His eyes squinted together as he thought.

"No. With the old fashioned wining and dining, so to speak. And we can top it all off with some public humiliation when we get back at school."

"Excellent idea, Fred! Now which one of us are we going to make her fall for? How about you, since I'm not good at that kind of stuff?"

"No, I think we should make her fall for you. We already started by doing that whole girlfriend thing in Ginny's room." Fred didn't good about playing with Hermione's emotions. He didn't want to be the one to make her fall for him.

"Alright. We make her fall for me. But how about you pretend to be me for the romantic stuff? I'm not really one for that kind of stuff."

Fred wasn't paying attention, but he mumbled "Yeah. Yeah, alright." He had this weird feeling that seemed to come from somewhere in his middle. It didn't feel good.He sat thinking, feeling. Thenhe realized with afrownthat the feeling was guilt.


	4. Diagon Alley

A/N: I really sorry about the punctuation; no matter how many times I go over it, it seems in the uploading process it gets slightly messed up. I would like to thank **Ruinsul **for her advice, even though it refuses to work for me. Anyway, thank you to the rest of you who have reviewed! It makes me smile and inspires me to bring up points in the coming chapters that I have taken for granted. Like **Lady Emily'**s question about why Fred is going through with the plan when he feels guilty. Your question will be answered in this chapter. I also must mention (to **tink-Chan**, mainly) that I'm going slow in the romance department because I think it would be more realistic if everything happened over time instead of all at once. I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be 30 or more chapters, but it will take me awhile to write. In any case, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Chapter Four: Diagon Alley

"Children! Come one now, time to go!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs to her kids, Hermione, and Harry. Fred and George apparated behind their mother and when she turned around, they grinned as Mrs. Weasley grabbed her heart in fright and sucked in a sharp breath. "Don't scare me like that!" she chastised them.

"Sorry, Mum," said George with a cheeky grin. He turned around and walked towards the table. There he grabbed two biscuts and threw one to Fred as he walked closer. Mrs. Weasley went bustling out of sight, gathering things for the trip.

"So," Fred said quietly. He looked down at his biscut. "We still going along with the plan?"

"Of course. It was your idea," George replied, his mouth full of bread.

"If you eat like that, George, we won't be able to deny the fact that Ron is our brother!" laughed Fred.

"What about me?" Ron said, running down the stairs, followed closely by Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. Ron and Harry each went to the table and grabbed biscuts while Hermione and Ginny looked on in disgust as they watched the boys shove them in their mouths.

"Honestly, does it take that much more effort to close your mouths?" Hermione said as she rolled her eyes. Fred looked at George, and swallowing the last bit of food in his mouth, he swiftly sidled up to Hermione and grinned. He threw his armaround her waist, pulled her closeand looked down at her. Hermione stared up at Fred in shock.

"Anything for you, love." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Hermione blushed scarlet as Ginny's eyes widened. Ron's mouth hung open as bits of soggy food fell from it. Harry just stood there with an amused look on his face. "I will remember that for the next meal I eat."

Hermione gained her composure and said calmly, "Frederick Weasley, take your hands off me right now before I curse you into oblivion."

"I would, Hermione," said George with a gleeful look, pretending to be Fred. "But I don't have my hands on you." He waggled his hands in front of him to prove it.

"FREDERICK WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley had just came bustling in when she saw her son with his arm around Hermione. The grins that Harry, Ginny, and the real George had wore fell from their faces. Ron continued to look on with a stunned look on his face. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HERMIONE!" Fred dropped his arm from around Hermione's waist and turned around to look at his mother.

"I'm not Fred. I'm George," Fred said as he forced himself to grin at his mother. Big mistake. Mrs. Weasley's nostrils flared and her eyes turned to barely visible slits. Fred could have sworn that there was steam coming out of her ears.

"I don't know what you are up to, George," Mrs. Weasley bit out in a fake calm voice. "But I will _not_ have you put Hermione in the middle of it."

Fred's grin faded as he looked seriously at his mother. "I can't help it, mum, if I fancy Hermione." Fred did something he never did before. He turned away from his mother. Mrs. Weasley was surprised at this, but said nothing more about it. She turned to look at the rest of her wide-eyed children.

"Why aren't you ready? Come on! Get a move on!" Mrs. Weasley said as she rounded up the kids. "We're using Floo powder to get to Diagon Alley."

"Where's dad?" Ginny asked, her voice had an awed quality to it. No one had ever stood up to her mother before. She gazed wonderingly at George. She was unaware that she was actually looking at Fred.

"He had to go into work. It was an emergency. Apparently someone hexed a warehouse full of toilet seats that were due for shipment this morning. The lot of them have been chasing the workers out when they tried to pack them up and managed to escape the warehouse. They're now wreaking havoc upon Muggle London. Harry, why don't you go first?" Mrs. Weasley held out the Floo powder to Harry. "And remember to annunciate! DIE-A-GON AL-LEE." Harry blushed as he remembered saying "Diagonally" the last time he travelled by Floo powder to Diagon Alley.

Once everyone had reached Diagon Alley, Mrs. Weasley let everyone split up. She went to Flourish and Blotts to buy everyone their new books. (Well, new for Harry and Hermione, but second-hand for her own children.) Fred and George went off alone to Gambol Japes, while Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor to have ice cream outdoors as they watched wizards and witches stroll by.

"So, what's going on with you and my brother?" Ginny asked slyly as she stuck her spoon full of vanilla ice cream topped with caramel in her mouth.

"Nothing!" Hermione said in a high pitched voice.

"Right..." muttered Ron as he stared into his chocolate ice cream. He started to stab it with his spoon and rested his head mournfully on his other hand.

"I'm serious!" Hermione wailed. "I don't know what's up with George!" Hermione got quiet and got a thoughtful expression on her face. She looked at Ginny. "Do you think he was telling the truth about fancying me?" she said in a serious, but excited voice. No boy had ever fancied her before, as far as she knew.

"He sounded pretty serious. And then he turned his back on Mum. No one has ever done that before. Did you see the look on her face? She looked like she'd been slapped in her face! Leave it to George to do something like that," Ginny said in a very impressed voice.

"Harry, what do you think?" Hermione said as she turned to her friend. "You haven't said anything about this."

"Well..." Harry glanced at Ron, who was still stabbing his ice cream, and came to a decision. "I think he might fancy you." Harry went back to his ice cream.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Hermione muttered sarcastically. She glared down at her ice cream. She began stabbing it, too, but for completely different reasons than Ron.

Meanwhile, Fred and George were in the joke shop, Gambol Japes. They were looking at No-Heat Fireworks when Fred burst out, "That was horrible!"

Without looking at his brother, George asked, "What was horrible?" He picked up an exceptionally large fireworks box and read the back.

"What we did to Hermione."

"What _you_ did to Hermione, you mean." George put down the box and looked at his brother. "This was your idea. And when have you ever really cared about... Fred, you don't fancy Hermione, do you?" George finally worked out what was bothering his brother about playing a joke on someone.Fred had never felt bad about a prank, except in their second year when heliked Angelina and they decided to put frog spawn in her cereal.

"No, I don't! I'm just growing up, is all. I'm sorry if I feel bad about messing with the head of one of our friends." Fred turned around moodily and pretended to look at some other random items.

"You're softening, aren't you?" George accused. "You're turning into Percy!"

"I am not!" Fred whipped around and looked at his brother with flashing eyes. He would never be _Percy_. It was disgusting!

"Well, if you're not Percy, then you'll continue the plan, won't you?"

Fred considered this for a moment. He knew that if he didn't continue, he'd be mocked by his brother. There was nothing worse in the world to Fred than to be considered a wimp by his twin. He had to remain equal to George. He just had to. There was nothing more important to Fred. Not even Hermione.

"Yeah. Yeah! I'm gonna continue. And I'm gonna win!" Fred shouted,nodding his head.

"That's more like it," George said and they high-fived eachother. The guilt that Fred had been feeling all day grew so he could feel it throughout his entire body. He had never felt like this for any other person. Was he softening? _Well_, Fred thought. _If I am softening, I'll just have to get over it._ He went back to looking around at the various joke products.


	5. Sleepless Nights

A/N: Thank you all so much for the kind reviews! They inspire me to keep writing, so the more reviews, the quicker I update!

Chapter Five: Sleepless Nights

A week and a half had passed since the kids went to Diagon Alley. It had also been a week and a half since Fred (or George) spoke directly to Hermione. The twins felt the need to put their plans on hold while they remained at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley was so overprotective of her children, even the "adopted" ones like Harry and Hermione, that Fred and George were scared to even ask Hermione to pass the butter at the dinner table.

Fred and George had been thinking about Hermione a lot over the past two weeks, but for different reasons. While George thought of ways to make Hermione's bushy hair even bushier, Fred thought of ways he'd manage to untangle his fingers from it after a particularly long make out session. Not that he was thinking about making out with Hermione, of course!

Hermione also did her fair share of thinking about the twins. She mainly thought at night or when she thought no one was looking. Hermione tried to battle her feelings alone. She had done that before when she had liked one of Ron and Ginny's brothers before. She hadn't wanted Ron or Ginny to laugh or feel awkward around her. It had been easy to block her feelings then, though. Percy had never reciprocated her feelings. It was another thing when a boy she liked and admired said he liked her back (even if Hermione only thought of him as half a person, with his twin equalling one whole person).

It was the night before the return to Platform 9 3/4 when Hermione had a particularly bad night. She thought about George as she tossed and turned in her bed, trying to find a comfortable spot. But knowing that George was just a few rooms away, probably with his shirt off, was just too much for Hermione. She groaned and rose from the bed. Quietly, Hermione tiptoed across the room and went downstairs to make some tea.

Hermione didn't hear the footsteps behind her when she had pulled out her want and muttered an incantation to warm the water. But she sharply turned around with her wand out when she felt the hand upon her left shoulder.

"Woah," Fred's arms raised themselves into the air on their own accord, his fingers splayed and pointed straight up. "Down girl! It's just me."

Lowering her wand, the fear in her eyes remaining, Hermione muttered, "George?"

"Fred," he said before he realized this would have been the perfect time to advance in the plan. Somewhere in his body, in the chest region, he felt glad that he told the truth.

Uttering a sigh of relief, Hermione visably relaxed. She closed her eyes momentarily, then looked into the face that had haunted her waking dreams. "Hey," she mumbled. For once, words failed her.

"Can't sleep?" Fred asked gently as he stared into her eyes.

"No," she paused. To fill the silence, and to have an excuse to look away from Fred's powerful gaze that looked so much like George's, she said stupidly, "I made tea." She looked down as she lifted the cup up slightly.

"I see." Fred wasn't talking about the tea. He had come to the sudden realization that he felt more for this girl than friendship, even with her bushy hair a gnarly mess from tossing in bed and the light freckles that peppered the pale skin of her nose and cheeks. Or was it because of this that he felt that way? They stood there in silence for a moment. "Come walk with me," Fred said into the silence of the night.

Startled, Hermione shakily said, "W-What?"

"A walk. You know... You put one leg in from of the other and shift your weight back and forth," Fred grinned. "That usually tuckers me out." With that Fred grabbed Hermione's hand. He had no idea about what he was doing, but he still continued.

Hermione placed her teacup, still full of hot water, on the counter as she quickly passed by. She let Fred drag her out the front door and into the yard. Once in the long driveway, Fred led Hermione past the snoring garden, which was in desperate need of deknoming.

No one said anything as they walked. They each kept their eyes on the stars and the full moon. After a minute of silent walking, Fred chanced a glance at Hermione. She noticed and looked back.

"Fred... Can I ask you something?" Hermione said hesitantly. She started to wring her hands together nervously.

"Yeah, of course." _Here it comes_, Fred thought. _This is where she tells me she likes me. This is when she's going to tell me that she wants to go out with me._

"Do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Yes."

"Not even George? Especially not George..."

"Yes..." _Why'd she have to go and mention him?_ he thought.

"Okay." She took a deep breath and kept her eyes locked on the moon. "I... I think I like George." By the time the words left her mouth, Hermione knew she had made a mistake. Of all the people she could have told, she had told the person most likely to tell George.

Fred froze. For a moment his face fell, but Hermione didn't notice. He went on autopilot and muttered a soft, "Oh." This was just another time Fred had to bury his true feelings. Inside he called himself stupid. Fred came to an unconcious decision. He would have to get back at Hermione. It was time to advance in the plan.

"Fred?" Hermione asked selfconsiously.

"He likes you, too." It was Hermione's time to freeze.

"W-What?"

"Let's head back now." They had reached a forest, which looked dark and unwelcoming. They turned. Fred's heart felt like stone. Hermione's felt like a frozen tornado.

"Are you - " A howl interrupted Hermione's question. They quickly looked towards the forest. Behind them a large dog like creature came barreling at them. They both froze - again. In a scared voice, Hermione muttered, "Werewolf. RUN!" They didn't need to be told twice. They started to run back to the Burrow, but they were so far away that they had no hope of reaching it.

"Hermione! I can Apparate!" Fred bit out. "Come here!" They moved closer, still running, and Fred reached out to clutch Hermione's hand. He tried to Apparate, but his mind was on the big hairy beast coming ever so closer. Hermione began to fall back; physical agility was not her strong suit.

"Sun!" she cried and stopped running. Fred slowed down, stopped, then looked behind him. Sure enough, the sun was rising. The werewolf had stopped running and stood there, whimpering. Hermione inched closer while Fred raced to her and grabbed her arm to pull her back. She hardly noticed.

With one last howl of pain, the werewolf turned and ran. He had started to change, and soon he was a man running back into the forest.

"Come on. Let's go back, Hermione." But she continued to stare about the familiar man. Fred looked back and gripped Hermione's hand tighter, sensing that she would follow the werewolf.

Fred looked at the werewolf and growled, "Percy. So that's why he left."

"And came back. London is a dangerous place for a werewolf without potion. I wonder why he came _here,_ though... Let's get back now, before someone wakes up and notices us gone." Hermione took her hand back from Fred and started back towards the Burrow. Fred followed slowly, his brows furrowed in thought. He finally noticed how far ahead Hermione was and jogged the short gap between them. Without looking at her, Fred asked, "What are we going to do about Percy?"

"Nothing. He'll go back to London today and carry on with his life. I doubt it if he'll come back here after we saw him." Hermione glanced at Fred's angry face and said, "Besides, if we mention Percy, you know how hard your mum will cry. She doesn't need that today of all days. In a few hours, the last of her children will be gone." Fred relaxed.

"Yeah, you're right. How is it you're always right?" _Dammit_, he thought. _Those bloody feelings are back._

Hermione stayed silent. They were nearing the Burrow again. Hermione paused at the door. She tentatively reached out a hand and let it rest on Fred's left arm. "Fred, wait." His hand dropped from the door nob. "I... I just wanted to thank you."

"For what?" he asked, staring into her big brown eyes.

"For ending my sleepless nights." With that, Hermione opened the door and climbed the stairs to go get one last hour of sleep.

Fred paused at the door. He smiled to himself. He had caused her what she had caused him. They had both suffered restless nights.

Fred's smile faltered slightly as he entered the kitchen. On the table sat Hermione's now cold cup of water. He had whisked her out the door before she had had time to make tea with the water. That simple thing brought him back to the task at hand. Putting the cup in the sink, Fred wondered which twin Hermione actually liked. Was it really George? Or was it Fred? Or was it some horrible combination of the two? Hermione's nights may now be filled with sleep, but Fred knew he wouldn't sleep until he had Hermione, whether it was as himself, or as someone else.

A/N: I'm sorry for the seriousness of this chapter. I needed a little conflict. But the next chapter, which should be up within a few days (tomorrow if I get the day off from school), will be a lot lighter because they're back at Hogwarts! Yay!


	6. Back Again

A/N: I apologise for the long wait. I don't really have a good excuse, so on with the next chapter!

Chapter Six: Back Again

Through the hustle and bustle of getting back on the Hogwarts train, Fred and Hermione didn't have a chance to talk. Neither did Ginny and George. Both had wanted to find out where their roommates had gone to in the early hours of the morning.

Ginny had the perfect oppurtunity to talk to Harry on the train, however. Ron and Hermione had left to go get their prefect instructions, while Ginny and Harry shared a compartment to themselves.

"I think something bad is going to happen to Hermione this year," Ginny said seriously.

Harry's face scrunched up in worry. "Why do you say that?"

"She was gone for about two hours this morning and I thought I heard George ask Fred where he was around the same time Hermione went missing."

"Do you think something is going on between Hermione and Fred?" Harry asked, trying to read between the lines. "I thought it was George that was all over her."

"He was, but I don't think that anything is going on between her and Fred. Hermione would tell us. Besides, she fancies George, not Fred. But I think that Fred and George are up to something. They've been acting funny lately, like they've got something up their sleeves." Ginny said matter of factly.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Fred and George are usually up to something. I just hope Hermione realizes it in time." Harry developed a bittersweet look on his face.

"You're not going to tell her?"

"No, and neither should you," Harry looked sternly at Ginny, who frowned. "She won't want to hear what we have to say. This is something she has to learn for herself."

"Who has to learn what for herself?" asked George. The twins walked in and sat down; George next to Harry and Fred next to Ginny.

"Never you mind," Ginny said, glaring at her brothers. She folded her arms on her chest, her jaw set. "Now, what are you two planning to do to Hermione?"

"What do we plan to do to Hermione, she asks," George said, a large grin popping onto his face.

"We aren't planning anything for Hermione," Fred lied smoothly, an identical grin on his face. No matter what he felt for Hermione, or any girl, for that matter, he would always feel the instant thrill of the oncoming of a prank.

"We know you're planning something," Harry said. "But I have to warn you that if you hurt her, we'll have to repay you."

"Hurt who?" Ron had squeezed inot the compartment and sat next to Fred. It was very cramped and Ginny was squashed against the window.

"No one," Harry, Ginny, Fred, and George said hurriedly.

"Right, then. What's going on?" Ron asked eagerly as he settled down. But no one seemed too keen on letting Ron know that the girl he had liked since he was 11 liked someone else, and that that someone else (who happened to be his own flesh and blood) might like her back. "Come on! You can trust me!"

"What's going on here?" Hermione asked, looking at all the guilty faces (and Ron's thoroughly confused one).

"They're all hiding something from me!" Ron said angerly.

Hermione surprised everyone by smiling and looking pointedly at Ron. "We all seem to be hiding things from eachother, aren't we, Ron?" Hermione raised her eyebrows while Ron blushed profusely.

"Don't talk about that," he mumbled, his cheeks soon matching his neck and ears.

"Ickle Ronniekins has got a secret!" Fred said as he started to rise. George followed.

"Maybe you'll talk once we perfect our latest invention," George added as he and Fred migrated to the door, pushing Hermione out into the corridor. The ones left sitting stared at the twins and Hermione. The three of them paused, looking at each other. Fred looked behind him and then nudged George in his side. George said, "Right, then. We'll be seeing you, Hermione." He grinned and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on Hermione's lips. She was too shocked to do anything expect blush as red as Ron. After a few seconds, the kiss ended and Hermione proceeded to back into a wall while the twins turned and left. Without the twins' tall bodies blocking her view, Hermione came face to face with Draco Malfoy's sneering face while Crabbe and Goyle brought up the rear.

"What's this, Granger? Graduated to an older Weasley?" Draco swooped to a stop and glared down at Hermione. He smirked and said, "No matter how hard you try, you'll always be a filthy little mudblood to me."

"Back off, Malfoy!" Harry shouted, his wand pointed directly at Draco's heart. Harry was the first to recover from the shock of seeing Hermione and George kiss.

With a glimmer of fear in his eyes, Draco managed, "Lucky for you, Mudblood, that ickle Potty is here to save the day." With that, Draco swooped away and Crabbe and Goyle stumbled clumsily after him.

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said somewhat breathlessly.

"No problem. Why don't you come back into the compartment. I think we all need to talk." Harry gently grabbed Hermione's hand and led her into the compartment where Ginny and Ron still sat. Hermione took a seat next to Ginny while Harry sat next to Ron.

"What's going on between you and my brother?" Ron blurted out, a hint of anger and accustation in his voice.

"Nothing!" Hermione looked inot the disbelieving eyes of her three best friends. "Well... Something. But I don't know what! I've hardly ever talked to Fred and George before and now they're both saying George fancies me..."

"Wait... They're _both_ saying George fancies you?" Ginny asked, looking troubled. "When did Fred say George fancied you?"

"Oh," Hermione blushed. "Well, I couldn't sleep last night -"

"Or any night since you came to the Burrow," Ginny said, looking at Harry since Hermione refused to look at any of them, especially Ron. Ron, however, just sat there, quietly seething.

"Yeah. Er... Well, last night I went downstairs to make tea because that's what my mum does when she can't sleep and then Fred was there and he wanted to take a walk so we walked and talked and he said George fancies me and then we saw -" Hermione stopped her frantic speech. She realized she was about to blurt out what Fred and her had found out about Percy.

"You saw what?" Harry asked.

"We saw... We saw the sun!" Hermione said hastially. She glanced at everyone, hoping they would believe her. "We saw the sun, so we decided to head back. And that's it," Hermione concluded lamely.

"Yeah, okay," Ron said finally, breaking the silence that followed the end of Hermione's speech.

"It's true!" Hermione wasn't exactly lying, because they did go in once the sun rose. However, she knew that Percy had to be kept secret, at least for now. She felt that she (and Fred) hadn't heard the end of Percy. Hermione also liked the fact that she and Fred had a secret that only they (and Percy) knew. _Oh no!_ Hermione thought. _I'm starting to fall for Fred, too!_

"I - I have to go," Hermione mumbled. "Patrol duties." She rose from her seat, avoided everyone's eyes, and exited the compartment before they could argue.

Ron pulled out a paper and glanced at it for a second. "She doesn't have patrol duties for another 15 minutes! What's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ginny siad impatiently. "She and Fred saw something last night. Something big. Big enough to confuse her about how she feels about George."

"What?" Ron asked, getting extremely annoyed. "I thought Hermione liked George. Now you're saying she likes Fred? JUST SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!" Ginny looked affronted and crossed her arms, not saying another word. Ron let out an angry growl, his eyes becoming slits.

"She's saying that Hermione likes both of them," Harry said, trying to keep peace. He looked at Ginny for conformation. Ginny nodded, not looking at Ron.

Meanwhile, Hermione was just about to lose her mind as she wandered the corridors. She could not figure out how she really felt and about who. Maybe it was because they looked exactly the same, Hermione didn't know. What she did know, however, was that she had to get everything sorted out, lest she lose her mind - literally.

As Hermione walked aimlessly, she barked out orders at random people she encountered. She, most unfortunately, barked an order at a certain redheaded boy.

"Get back into your compartment!"

"Now, now, Hermione. It's not nice to take your anger out on others," Hermione's head shot up and to her horror, she was face to face with one of the two people she least wanted to meet up with.

"Are you George or Fred?" Hermione didn't know why she bothered to ask. No matter which one this boy was, she felt exactly the same.

"I'm George. And you are?" George smiled brilliantly.

"Look, George. I don't know what's going on, but -"

"But you're going to have to wait," George cut in and grabbed the wall to steady himself. The Hogwarts train had begun to slow to a stop. "It's time for the feast!"

Hermione just stood there, blinking. _What a horrible time for the train to stop!_ she thought. Students began mulling out the doors. George disappeared into the crowd. He needed to get away from Hermione. He did not want to hear what she had to say to him. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was about the kiss. For some reason, George didn't want Hermione to tell him never to do it again.

Though the throngs of students, Hermione, Fred, and George each made their ways to the horseless carriages separately. Each of them were in their own worlds, each thinking about the other two.

In hollow sounding voices, in three separate carriages, Hermione, Fred, and George each muttered sarcastically, "It's great to be back again."

A/N: I thought this would be a humor fic, but it doesn't seem to be turning out that way. As a result, I am going to take down the humor part on the listing. Sorry about that!


End file.
